Toy machine gun



July 5, 1938. J, w. K. HEPPNER 2,122,467

TOY MACHINE GUN Filed April 17, 1954 INVENTOR gzhn ,W. K. Heppnfzr Qua/r M ATTORNEYS Patented July 5, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE TOY MACHINE GUN Application April 17, 1934, Serial No. 720,952

17 Claims.

This invention relates to toys, and more particularly to toy guns, especially simulated ma chine guns.

The primary object of my invention is to generally improve toy guns. A more particular object of my invention resides in the provision of a toy gun having spark producing mechanism for causing a shower of sparks at the muzzle, sound producing mechanism, and motor means for continuously operating the sparking mechanism and the sound producing mechanism. The motor may be controlled by a trigger, and the continuous shower of sparks in response to pulling the trigger makes the toy realistic in operation.

Further objects and features of my invention center about the construction of the machine gun mechanism, and include the location of the motor near the muzzle of the gun; the provision of a compact and appropriately shaped motor adapted to be there mounted; simplified sparking mechanism including a holder adapted to support a pyrophoric or like element against an abrasive wheel with light gravitational pressure; complete removability and replaceability of the sparking element through the top of the gun muzzle; a

simulated sight on the gun muzzle normally concealing the sparking element but movable to provide access to the sparking element; the provision of an improved noise making hammer which is large yet disposed longitudinally of the gun barrel and which is adapted to produce aloud sound and realistic vibration of the gun, yet operable by a motor of only moderate torque; and the provision of an improved tripod which is inexpensive to manufacture, and collapsible to small dimension.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing and such other objects as will hereinafter appear, my invention consists in the toy machine gun elements and their relation one to another, as hereinafter are more particularly described in the specification and sought to be defined in the claims. The specification is accompanied by a drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a machine gun embodying features of my invention;

Fig. 2 is a section through the sound and spark producing mechanism;

Fig. 3 is a transverse section taken in the plane of the line 33 in Fig. 2; and

Figs. 4 and 5 are details of the mounting fo the pyrophoric element.

Referring to the drawing and more particularly to Fig. 1 thereof, the toy machine gun comprises a machine gun body B detachably mounted on a tripod T. The body B is shaped to simulate the breech portion l2, the barrel portion M, and the muzzle portion l6 of a machine gun.

The machine gun includes spark producing mechanism S, noise making mechanism N, and a 5 motor M for operating both the sound and spark producing mechanisms. The motor M is disposed at the muzzle portion iii of the gun, thereby simplifying the drive of the spark producing mechanism S. The motor frame is shaped with 10 converging top and bottom sides 20 and 22 (Fig.

2) so as to fit compactly and accurately within the generally triangular part 24 (Fig. 1) of the machine gun body. Referring to Fig. 2, the spring winding shaft 26, the spiral spring 28, 15 and the large-diameter gear 30 actuated thereby, are all located at the large part of the motor frame. Gear 30 is then connected, through a step-up gear train of progressively smaller gears,

to the abrasive wheel 32. Specifically, gear 30 20 meshes with a pinion 34 fast with a gear 36 meshing with a pinion 38 fast with a gear 4 0 meshing with a pinion 42 fixed on the shaft 44 of the abrasive wheel 32. The abrasive wheel 32 is preferably disposed with the top of its periphery substantially at the longitudinal center line of the gun barrel and muzzle IS.

A pyrophoric or like element 50 is secured to a holder 52 consisting of a bent strip of sheet metal, as is best shown in Fig. 5, the opposite end of the holder being formed into an inverted T 54 which is received in a bayonet type slot 55 in the top of muzzle IS. The muzzle is cut away at 58 to receive the holder 52, and the latter is 35 freely movable so as to rest lightly and gravitationally upon the abrasive wheel 32. This light contact prolongs the operating life of the pyrophoric element. The sparking mechanism is concealed by a simulated sight 60 which is supported 40 on the muzzle by front tongue and slot connections 62 and back tongue and slot connections 64-. The front tongues'slip into the mating slots with a snap engagement, while the rear tongues are so shaped as to provide pivoting of the sight 60 on 45 the gun. The sight 60 may thus be elevated, as shown in Fig. 4, thereby providing access to the spark producing mechanism.

The pyrophoric element 50 is readily changed when worn out, by elevating the sight 60, elevat- 50 ing the holder 52 until the element 50 is above the muzzle, and thereupon swinging the holder 52 approximately at right angles to the gun barrel, whereupon the inverted T end 54 is readily elevated out of the bayonet slot 56. Substitute 65 elements 50 are preferably supplied already mounted on the holders 52.

Because of the proximity of the spark producing mechanism to the muzzle of the gun, a shower of sparks is emitted from the gun. However, if it is desired to further expose the shower of sparks. the side walls of the muzzle may be cut away to form elongated windows 66.

The sound producing mechanism includes a hammer or sound producing element 10 of substantial length. This element is preferably bent from stiff, heavy gauge strap metal. In its present form it is pivoted in the motor frame on a spindle I2. The main gear 30 of the motor meshes with a pinion 14 which rotates an approprlate cam 16. A cam follower I8 is connected rigidly with the hammer l0, and this cam follower preferably is bent to form the ears 80 through which the spindle I2 passes. It will be evident that as the cam l rotates in a clockwise direction, the hammer I0 is elevated and abruptly released, whereupon its free end 82-strikes against the bottom of the machine gun. The end 82 is preferably bent, as shown, so as to strike without interference. Because of the length and weight of the hammer, it produces a substantial noise and is further accompanied by vibration of the machine gun body, which enhances the realism of the toy. If desired, the impact or" the hammer may be sharpened by the provision of a light leaf spring 88 mounted in cantilever fashion at the end 90 in the motor frame and extending over the hammer. An intermediate portion 92 of the hammer ls bent upwardly so as to bear against the spring when elevated by the cam I6. The spring is displaced only slightly and adds but little to the motor load, yet greatly accelerates the fall of the hammer.

The motor is controlled by a trigger 94 preferably located at the breech end of the gun and within a handle 96. The trigger is U-shaped and is normally held inwardly or forwardly by a compression spring 98. One arm of the trigger is extended forwardly, as shown at I00, and runs through the body of the gun to the motor. At the motor a simple brake I02 (Figs. 2 and 3) is provided, pivoted at IE4 and connected to the control wire I00 at I06. The brake encompasses the sparking wheel shaft 44 with an arcuate slot I08 which is eccentric with respect to pivot I04.

The parts are so disposed that when the trigger is moved forwardly by compression spring 98, the resulting forward oscillation of brake I52 causes one edge of slot I08 to bear or wedge against the shaft 44 and to prevent rotation thereof. Be cause of the extremely high gear step-up provided between the main spring 28 and the sparking wheel, only a slight braking effort is needed to accomplish this result. When the trigger is drawn rearwardly, the brake I02 is moved so as to release the brake pressure, thus permitting free operation of the mechanism.

The gun body B may be made up wholly of sheet metal. For this purpose I fashion and bend one piece of sheet metal to form the top wall IIO, the side walls H2, and the front end wall N4 of the breech portion I2. The rear end wall H6 and bottom wall II8 of the breech portion are formed of a. second piece of sheet metal. These walls are provided with appropriate flanges and are locked together by suitable tongue and slot connections to form a fully enclosed and rigid breech portion. v

The barrel portion I4 is made of one piece of sheet'metal the central portion of which is bent arcuately to form the barrel I4 and corrugated to form simulated cooling fins I20. The ends of the single piece of sheet metal are then directed downwardly to form the sides I22. The muzzle portion I6 is also formed of a single piece of sheet metal bent downwardly to form the side walls I24 which enclose the forward part of the motor frame. At the end of muzzle portion I6 the sheet metal sides are bent inwardly to form a closed cylindrical barrel, as is indicated at I26 in Fig. 1, the meeting edges being secured to-' gether by appropriate tongue and slot connections. The open bottom edge of the barrel and muzzle portions I4 and I6 are closed by a single piece of sheet metal I28 which extends forwardly from the breech portion, then slopingly upwardly beneath the muzzle portion, as at I30, and finally extends upwardly to the muzzle, as at I32. This piece of metal is appropriately flanged and secured to the side walls by suitable tongue and slot connections.

The motor frame is locked to the bottom closure I30 by tongue and slot connections 34, best shown in Fig. 2.

The tripod T comprises a circular block of wood I40 centrally bored at I42 and provided with three holes I44 arranged at an angle suitable to receive the tripod legs 546. These legs are made of sheet metal and are channel shaped except for feet I48 at the lower ends and cylindrical parts I50.at the upper ends. The machine gun body is provided with a wire loop I52 having ends I54 sprung sidewardly into the machine gun body, and 2. depending pin I56 adapted to be received in the central opening I42 of block I40. It will be understood that for shipment the machine gun body is readily elevated from the tripod, whereupon the member I52 is adapted to fold with pin I56 parallel to and lying against the bottom of the machine gun body. The machine gun may thus be packed in an'elongated rectangular carton closely fitting the machine gun body. The tripod is readily disassembled by pulling the legs from the block. The legs may then be nested together and placed in the carton receiving the machine gun body. Ample room is also provided within the box for the block I40 as well as the winding stem or key I60, at the muzzle portion of the gun, because the rectangular breech portion of the gun is wider than the muzzle portion thereof.

It is believed that the mode of constructing and operating my improved toy machine gun, as well as the many advantages thereof, will be apparent from the foregoing detailed description thereof. It will also be apparent that while I have shown and described my invention in preferred form, many changes and modifications may be made in the structure disclosed, without departing from the spirit of the invention, defined in the following claims.

I claim: Y

1. A toy machine gun comprising a machine gun body having breech, barrel and muzzle portions, a pivoted vibratile hammer in the barrel portion, an actuating spring in contact with said hammer, a rotatable cam cooperating with said hammer to vibrate the same against the spring, sparking mechanism in the muzzle portion, a motor carried in said'machine gun body at the muzzle portion for operating both the cam and the sparking mechanism, and a trigger at the breech portion for controlling the motor.

2. A toy machine gun comprising an elongated body structure, a compact spring motor so shaped and arranged as to fit into the machine gun body near the muzzle end thereof, sparking mechanism associated with said motor and driven thereby, along noise producing element actuated by said motor, said element extending rearwardly from the motor within the machine gun body for a-substantial distance in order to obtain large amplitude of movement, and trigger means for controlling the operation of the motor.

3. A toy machine gun unit comprising a portable elongated body structure simulating the breech, barrel, and muzzle portions of a machinegun, a compact spring motor so shaped and arranged as to fit into and be completely housed by the machine gun body at the muzzle end thereof, said motor including a train or step-up gearing terminating in an abrasive wheel arranged with the top of its periphery approximately at the center line of the muzzle, a pyrophoric or like element arranged to rest on said abrasive wheel to produce a shower of sparks out of the muzzle, and a trigger at the breech portion of the gun for controlling the operation of the spring motor.

4. A toy machine gun comprising an elongated body structure simulating the breech, barrel, and muzzle portions of a machine gun, a spring motor in said machinegun body at the muzzle end thereof, said motor including a train of step-up gearing terminating in an abrasive wheel -arranged in the muzzle, a pyrophoric or like element arranged to rest on said abrasive-wheel to produce a shower. of sparks at the muzzle, a

resiliently moved cam actuated sound producing element arranged to be vibrated by the motor, said element extending rearwardly within the gun body, and a trigger at the breech portion for controlling the operation of the spring'motor.

5. A toy machine gun comprising an elongated body structure simulating the breech, barrel, and muzzle portions of a machine gun, a compact spring motor so shaped and arranged as to fit into the machine gun body at the muzzle end thereof, said motor including a train of step-up gearing terminating in an abrasive wheel arranged with the top of its periphery approximate-- ly at the center line of the muzzle, a pyrophoric or like element arranged to rest on said abrasive wheel to produce a shower of sparks at the muzzle, a 'resilientlymoved sound producing element arranged tome vibrated thereby, said element extending rearwardly within the gun body for a substantial distance, a cam actuating the same, a trigger at the breech portion of said gun body, and means operated thereby for controlling the operation of the spring motor.

6. A collapsible tripod for a toy machine gun, said tripod including a block arranged to detachably receive the machine gun, a plurality of legs for supporting said block, and means in said block for detachably receiving the upper ends of the legs.

7. A collapsible tripod for a toy machine gun, said tripod including a round wooden block provided with means for detachably receiving the machine gun, three legs for supporting said block,

and three holes drilled in said block at appropriate angles for detachably receiving the upper ends of the legs.

8. A sparkling gun comprising an abrasive wheel mounted in the gun barrel,'a detachably mounted pyrophoric or like element removable through the top of the barrel, and a simulated sight concealing the mounting of the pyrophoric element, said sight being movable for access to the pyrophoric element.

9. A toy machine gun comprising an elongated body structure simulating the breech, barrel, and muzzle portions of a machine gun, a compact spring motor so shaped and arranged as to fit into the machine gun body at the muzzle end thereof, said motor including a train of step-up gearing terminating in an abrasive wheel arranged with the top of its periphery approximately at the center line of the muzzle, a pyrophoric or like element arranged to rest on said abrasive wheel to produce a shower of sparks at the min-- zle, said element being removable through the top of the muzzle, a simulated sight concealing said element, said sight being movable for access to .the element, and a trigger to control the operation of the spring motor.

10. A toy weapon comprising a body, a vibratile resiliently moved noise making element therein, a rotatable cam cooperating with said element to vibrate the same, sparking mechanism in said body at the muzzle end thereof, a rotary driving motor in said body at the muzzle end thereof, and a trigger for controlling the motor at will, said motor when running serving to produce continuous operation of the aforesaid cam and sparking mechanisms. i

11. A toy gun comprising a gun body, a vibratile noise making element therein, a spring driven motor carried in an enlarged portion of the gun body associated with the barrel of the gun body near the muzzle end thereof, said motor carrying "and terminating in an abrasive wheel arranged with the top of its periphery approximately at the center line of the gun barrel near the muzzle end thereof, a pyrophoric element arranged to rest on said abrasive wheel, said element being removable through the top of the muzzle, a cam wheel driven by said motor for vibrating the noise making element into contact with a resonant body, a trigger for stopping or releasing the spring motor at will, and means to wind the motor.

12. A sparking toy weapon comprising a body, an abrasive wheel mounted in the body, means to rotate said wheel, a pyrophoric or like element, a support arm therefor, said element being mounted on one end of said arm, and the other end of said arm being loosely and detachably connected to the body, said body having an access opening above said arm, and an openable closure on said body over said opening, said 010- sure being spaced from said arm an amount suflicient to afford free self-adjustment of the arm but insuflicient to permit escape of the arm through said opening.

13. A toy gun unit comprising a portable simulated weapon body structure, a compact motor so shaped and arranged as to fit into the gun body, an abrasive wheel mounted in the body, said motor including a train of step-up gearing leading to said abrasive wheel in order to rotate the same, a pyrophoric or like element, a support arm therefor, said element being mounted on one end of said arm, and the other end of said arm being loosely detachably connected to the weapon body, said body having an access opening above said arm, an openable closure on said body over said opening, said closure being spaced from said arm an amount suflicient to afford free self-adjustment of 'the arm but insuflicient to permit escape of the arm through said opening, a sound producing element, and means driven by said motor to vibrate said element into contact with a resonant part of the weapon in order to produce a repeated percussive sound, and a trigger for controlling the operation of the motor.

14. A toy machine gun comprising an elongatedbody structure simulating the barrel and muzzle portions of a machine gun, a spring motor in said machine gun body at the muzzle end thereof, said motor including a train of step-up gearing terminating in an abrasive wheel arranged in the muzzle, a pyrophoric or like element arranged to rest on said abrasive wheel to produce a shower of sparks at the muzzle, a cam actuated percussive sound producing element arranged to be vibrated by the motor, a brake on the motor movable into engagement with the shaft of the abrasive wheel, a trigger near the back of the gun, a wire which extends forwardly from the trigger through the gun to the brake, and resilient means normally urging the brake to braking position, said trigger when pulled serving to release the brake.

15. A toy machine gun comprisingv a discrete portable elongated body structure simulating the barrel and muzzle portions of a machine gun, a small compact spring motor so shaped and di mensioned as to, be received in said machine gun body at the muzzle end thereof, said motor igcluding a train of step-up gearing terminating i an abrasive wheel arranged in the muzzle, a

. pyrophoric or like element arranged to rest on said abrasive wheel to produce a shower of sparks at the muzzle, a sound producing element arranged to be vibrated by the motor, said element extending rearwardly within the gun body,

and a, trigger for controlling the operation of the spring motor, the aforesaid sound producing element being pivotally mounted at its forward end in the motor, and having a part acting as a cam follower, a cam geared to said motor, said cam being arranged to periodically bear against the cam follower in order to elevate the element and abruptly release the same, and a leaf spring having one end fixedly mounted and its other end bearing downwardly against the element when the element is in elevated position.

16. A toy machine gun comprising an elongated body structure simulating the barrel and muzzle portions of a machine gun, said muzzleportion tapering forwardly, a spring motor in said machine gun body at the muzzle end thereof, an abrasive wheel arranged in the muzzle, a pyrophoric or like element arranged to rest on said abrasive wheel to produce a shower of sparks at the muzzle, a sound producing element, a cam for vibrating the same, said element extending ,rearwardly within the gun body, and a trigger for controlling the operation of the spring motor, said motor including a pair of generally parallel vertical side plates having their maximum vertical dimension at about the middle of the motor, a main spring and winding key mounted at the said middle part of the motor, the sides of said frame tapering forwardly in order to fit compactly within the tapering muzzle portion of the gun, a train of step-up gearing carried by said forward portion of the motor and'interconnecting the main spring with the abrasive wheel, additional step-up gearing carried in the rear part of the motor and connecting the main spring of the motorto the aforesaid cam.

' 17. A toy machine gun comprising an elongated body structure simulating the barrel and muzzle portions of a machine gun, said body comprising a piece of sheet metal bent downwardly to form the barrel and subjacent side wall portions of the body, the top part being bent to circular section and being pressed outwardly at spaced points to form simulated cooling fins, the muzzle portion of the body being formed ofa piece of sheet metal bent downwardly, the muzzle and barrel portions being closed at the bottom by a single longitudinally disposed strip of sheet metal, all of said sheet metal parts being secured together by appropriate tongue and slot connections, a compact spring motor so shaped and arranged as to fit into the machine gun body at the muzzle end thereof, said motor including a train of step-up gearing terminating in an abrasive wheel arranged in the muzzle, a pyrophoric or like element arranged to rest on said abrasive wheel to produce a shower of sparks at the muzzle, a percussive sound-producing element arranged to be vibrated by the motor, a trigger at the back of said machine gun body, and means operated thereby for controlling operation of the spring motor.

JOHN W, K. HEPPNER. 

